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Glossary - R
Rectum: The last 6 to 8 inches of the large intestine (bowel). The rectum stores solid waste until it leaves the body through the anus (bottom).
Reproductive age: The time in which a woman can conceive a child – e.g. from the start of periods to the menopause.
Resection: Surgical excision (removal by cutting) of a portion of an organ or other structure.
Retrograde menstruation: When you have a period, some of the endometrium (womb lining) flows backwards, out through the fallopian tubes and into the abdomen. This tissue may then implant itself on organs in the pelvis and grows. It has been suggested that most women experience some form of retrograde menstruation, but their bodies are able to clear this tissue and it does not deposit on the organs. This theory does not explain why endometriosis has developed in some women after hysterectomy, or why, in rare cases, endometriosis has been discovered in some men, when they have been exposed to oestrogen through drug treatments.
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